Nowell

“Reaching The Wall” by Gary Laib

by Esther Davis

Nowell thrust Fyrsken into the snow and leaned on the sword’s hilt. The frost caking his gloves seeped through the cloth, stinging his fingers.

“We need to go back,” Nowell said.

Sleipnir stopped. The white wolf twisted his neck to peer back at his master. “They don’t deserve you.”… Continue reading “Nowell”

Cobweb of Ghosts

by Esther Davis

I watched the lone survivor ease back into the conscious world. Bloodied mud and scarlet-stained moss lay around him. I ran my tongue over the flesh wedged between my teeth, savoring the taste of centaur.

Sanroc rose to his hooves, staggered a moment. I probed Sanroc’s mind, searching for fear, but found none. Still dazed.

My eyes glazed over as I further submerged myself into his consciousness. I smirked at his grasping for memory. Mortals. Such feeble minds.

He’d been brought here against his will. Sanroc remembered that much. But he still didn’t see the shreds of ropes mingled with the surrounding carnage nor the dagger, forgotten, beneath the stunted, gnarled spruce.

Odan came in the night. He’d dragged Sanroc–gagged, bound, and blindfolded–from their village under the veil of the new moon. Sanroc massaged his head now, trying to pull his memory to the surface. He saw again Odan’s bitter eyes. I remembered the vengeful lust I’d lapped from his kidnappers mind.

I pulled back to my body, leaving only the smallest probe in Sanroc’s head. I dug my claws into the bark and shifted my weight to make branch groaned beneath me. Sanroc’s head snapped towards the dark trees. All at once he saw the carnage, remembered the screams, and knew I–the beast in the shadows–had devoured his “friend”… Continue reading “Cobweb of Ghosts”

Tech #Disaster 101

@EstherDDavis

Mrs. @SprklyBubbles96 1

#English800

2 Sept 2073

5 Paragraph Essay: Technological First Aid 2 (First Draft)

Bright screens, blaring music, the aroma of chocolate cake drifting from the i-Sens Box’s ad… welcome to the ideal American home. Our #technology keeps us alive, feeding us the constant simulation the human brain craves for survival. But what if an EMP exploded above Washington? 3 :O Goodbye to electronics, permanently.

Don’t worry, the human brain can survive a full 26 hours 4 without constant stimuli. 🙂 5 But only 26. In an #emergency, your first priority is finding new stimuli. Water, food, shelter—that can wait. Continue reading “Tech #Disaster 101”

Not a Frog

by Esther Davis

“Stolen” by Mohammad Attaran

“I don’t think it’s a frog egg.” Dain raised the glass to eye level and turned it slowly. “You could’ve at least given him a bigger container.”

“The egg was smaller, I swear! By, like, a lot.” I didn’t like how Dain only clamped the glass’s rim from above. After three nights in the cupboard, the growing egg had pushed nearly all the water out. Some of the moisture still lingered on the side. What if the glass was too slick and my not-really-a-tadpole slipped from Dain’s fingertips? I resisted the urge to snatch the glass and cradle it against my chest.

The once penny-sized bubble now pressed against the glass walls. The confinement had warped the egg sac, making it more cylindrical than spherical. In the orange liquid floated not the pet tadpole I’d expected, but a dragon fetus. Continue reading “Not a Frog”

Men of Blades

by Esther Davis

The Obelisks should have saved us.

Joshr perched on the boulder, waves crashing against the rocky shore at his back. The Obelisk rose from the volcanic rock like a charred tree from ash. Its protective enchantments still held. The runes running up its hundred-foot spine still glowed blue. Far to the west and east, other Obelisks shone, each holding their ancient vigil.

No enemy could breach the unseen wall spanning between the Obelisks. But the Builders never knew enemies could come from above… Continue reading “Men of Blades”

Frozen Heart

by Esther Davis

The snowfall muffled the distant highway, and frosted autumn leaves still clung to their branches. Cody perched on the bench’s edge. His pug flopped into the carpet of snow at his feet. He watched Rachel’s fingers molding the handful of snow—clumsy and awkward. So simple, so ordinary. Magicless.

It was beautiful.

“How can you like me so much?” he blurted.

Read the rest in T Gene Davis’s Speculative Blog.